In May 2009, the Alameda Unified School Board was considering the adoption of
a new curriculum for K-12 that would promote acceptance and normalization of
homosexual and transgender behaviors under the guise of anti-bullying. A group
of concerned parents asked me to review and comment on the proposed curriculum
and its impact on children. Despite the evidence of potential harm, and over the
strong objections of many parents, the board adopted the proposed
curriculum.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

I’m a licensed psychologist in the State of California with a clinical and
forensic practice. I also sit on the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of
Child and Adolescent Health for the American College of Pediatricians. Over
the last decade, I’ve thoroughly surveyed the professional research literature
related to sexual orientation and children. In my professional role as a
psychologist, I’ve authored several articles intended to clarify complex
research findings for the public, as well as testified in various courts of law
regarding those same issues.

I was asked to review the proposed Alameda Unified School District curriculum
addressing sexual orientation and gender identity and author a statement
regarding its impact on children. The opinions I express are based on a thorough
knowledge of the professional research literature as well as my experience as a
licensed psychologist.

ENVIRONMENT IS PRIMARY FACTOR IN DEVELOPMENT OF SEXUAL PREFERENCE AND
GENDER IDENTITY

Decades of research confirm that sexual orientation and gender identity are
not inborn but are primarily shaped by environmental influences during childhood
and adolescence. The proposed school curriculum will affect the sexual
preference and gender identity formation of some children exposed to it because
it teaches that all sexual and gender variations are equally acceptable. Sexual
preference and gender identity formation are fragile developmental processes
that can be disrupted and altered by environmental influences such as the
lessons in the proposed school curriculum.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION IS NOT INBORN

Many people continue to believe that sexual orientation is inborn, although
that is not true. Extensive, worldwide research reveals that homosexuality is
predominately influenced by environmental factors. For instance, recent
large-scale studies compared rates of homosexual behavior in sets of identical
twins. If homosexual behavior were inborn, every time one identical twin was
homosexual, the other identical twin would also be homosexual 100% of the time.
But this is not what the research revealed. Rather, every time one identical
twin was homosexual the other twin was homosexual only 10% or 11% of the time.
Homosexual behavior is clearly not genetic.

In fact, an accumulation of extensive research utilizing millions of research
subjects finds that environment, not genetics, is the main factor in the
development of non-heterosexual behavior. (To review these research studies see
references 1-4 listed below).

SOCIETIES WHICH ENDORSE NON-HETEROSEXUAL BEHAVIOR ELICIT MORE OF THAT
BEHAVIOR

For a well-known example of the environmental effect on sexual behavior,
consider ancient Greece and Rome where male homosexuality and bisexuality were
nearly ubiquitous. That was not so because men in those societies were born with
a “gay gene,” but because human sexual behavior is malleable and culturally
influenced.

Research reveals that the more an environment (including the school
environment) affirms, endorses, or normalizes homosexual or bisexual behavior
the more of those behaviors there will be in that environment. The proposed
curriculum would teach children that it doesn’t matter with whom one has a
romantic or sexual relationship. Such a lesson will lead some children to engage
in homosexual relationships they might never have considered were it not for the
school’s social endorsement. In fact, we’re already seeing a general increase in
non-heterosexual behavior as a result of the media’s affirmation.

Sadly, the research is also clear that individuals who adopt non-heterosexual
lifestyles are more likely to suffer from a host of negative outcomes including
psychiatric disorders, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide attempts, domestic
violence and sexual assault, and increased risk for chronic diseases, AIDS, and
shortened lifespan. Schools should not affirm and thereby encourage young people
to adopt lifestyles more likely to lead to such devastation. (To review these
specific studies see references 5-10 below).

GENDER IDENTITY DISORDER IS A PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER THAT SHOULD NOT BE
NORMALIZED TO CHILDREN

The proposed school curriculum also teaches that transgendered lifestyles are
a healthy and acceptable alternative to the norm. That is not true. Many
transgendered individuals suffer from a psychiatric disorder known as Gender
Identity Disorder (GID) that is recognized by the American Psychiatric
Association as a mental disorder in need of psychological treatment. The
proposed curriculum encourages transgendered behavior by teaching, for instance,
that males who dress, behave, and live as females are completely normal. A boy
with a strong, persistent desire to be a girl requires early intervention and
psychiatric treatment, not school lessons teaching the normalcy of a
transgendered lifestyle. Children should not be encouraged by their schools to
question, doubt, or otherwise reject their inborn gender. Such a message is
extremely detrimental to the psychological and physical well being of children.
(For a thorough understanding of Gender Identity Disorder, see reference
number11below authored by world-renowned GID experts).

PROPOSED CURRICULUM IS UNNECESSARY BECAUSE ANTI-HARASSMENT CAN BE
TAUGHT IN WAYS WHICH PRECLUDE THE POTENTIAL FOR HARM

The proposed curriculum will cause sexual confusion and may disrupt the
sexual preference and gender identity development of some children. And it’s
also completely unnecessary. Anti-harassment, teasing, and bullying curriculums
can be taught without specifically identifying every circumstance in which such
behaviors are unacceptable. Children should be taught that ridiculing and
harassing others for any reason is cruel and unkind and will be swiftly
and appropriately punished. Schools can teach a simple message of zero tolerance
toward such behaviors without harming children whose sexual preferences and
gender identities are still developing.

DUE TO THE FOREGOING, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THE BOARD REJECT THE
PROPOSED CURRICULUM

The Alameda Unified School District’s proposed curriculum addressing sexual
orientation and gender identity will influence impressionable children and
perhaps alter their still developing sexual and gender identities. As such, it
will increase confusion and the likelihood children will engage in and adopt
homosexual, bisexual, or transgendered lifestyles. The sexual and gender
identity development of children is fragile and vulnerable to disruption.
Therefore, schools should not adopt any policy that could upset the delicate
balance of routine child development.

Sexual preference and gender identity are predominately influenced by
environmental factors and develop throughout childhood and adolescence. Teaching
children that all sexual- and gender-related behaviors are equally desirable
will increase the number of children who depart from the norm and engage in
those behaviors. And it also will lead some children into lifestyles that
increase the likelihood they will suffer from psychiatric disorders, physical
illnesses and shortened lives. Moreover, if the goal is simply to teach
non-harassing, non-bullying behavior, the proposed curriculum is not even
necessary. Such tolerance can be taught with basic lessons in empathy and
kindness, supported by rules and punishments for those who disregard them.

I
strongly urge the Alameda Unified School District Board reject the proposed
curriculum addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, as it is not in
the best interest of its students.

Okay, get your minds out of the gutter. I am talking Canada geese winging
their way north. The geese are always a harbinger of spring. I am afraid these
two skeins are in for a rough go. The lakes are still solidly frozen and the
fields covered in ice. I don't know what they are going to eat for the next few
weeks.

Tess and I were in the grocery store a while ago. I caught someone waving to
me out of the corner of my eye. It was three year old grandson Zephyr sitting in
a cart while his mom shopped. I went over to talk to him and he shyly gave me a
doughnut hole from a box he had opened while they were shopping. His little
hands were grubby and dirty and God only knows where they had been or what germs
they held but when a three year old shares his treats with you then you accept
it and eat it with all the grace you can muster.

Tess is cooking deep Filipino tonight so I am going to have the leftover ragu
I cooked last week and put in the freezer. I eat Filipino but not deep Filipino.
If there are eyes in the soup pot looking up at me I pass. I will eat the
eggplant she is cooking. She fries it in onion and garlic and egg. Yea, I know.
Eggplant. That doesn't matter anyway. When your woman shares her food with you
then you accept it and eat it with all the grace you muster. It looks like grey
paste but it tastes quite good.

Gathered some old photos today. One of my mom with her older sister who died.
They look to be 10 and 11. The other was a picture of my father and his older
brother with their father who was dressed up i his postal uniform. Dad looks
three. I scanned them at a high resolution then took them to the photo shop and
had them enlarged, printed, and framed. Then I dropped them off. No reason other
than I love them. And they loved the pictures but were just reserved enough that
I know that when Tess isn't around I will get the lecture about spending money
on them. I will have to give them the lecture about when you get a gift you
accept it with all the grace you can muster.

Grace. We all need to give it more often. More grace, less
politicians.

When I was a young child my grandfather had a second hand and antique business. It was housed in a huge, old dairy barn that had been converted to an antique store and it was jammed to the rafters with ancient treasures. There were separate rooms (stalls) for different collectibles: books, records, dishes, etc.

He had begun the business, and continued to stock it, with the simplest of means. He also ran a trucking business and advertised in local businesses that he did attic cleanings and haul aways.

Those old Maine attics were filled with antiques and most people had no idea their worth. They just wanted them out of their attics and my grandfather, the Yankee genius that he was, was all too happy to charge them to haul away their 'junk' while saving the best to sell to antique collectors.

A lot of items found their way to me in the form of endless presents" Lionel train sets, antique toys, children's books, and records.

One of those that was given to me was a recording of Peter and the Wolf narrated by Boris Karloff. It was the recording shown below. Oh, how I wish I still had the record. It was an old 78 RPM in heavy, thick vinyl and would be worth a fortune now.

In any event, this classic edition of Peter and the Wolf is well worth your time to listen to. Enjoy.